I have great respect for your company, so I was dismayed
to read an article about filling fireplaces with ferns,
moss, etc. in the previous issue. (See Gardening Newsletter,
Volume 2, Issue 2, Interesting Reads section, "The
Fire-Place in Summer", excerpt from American Agriculturalist,
Vol. XXXVIII, No. 5, May 1879.)

I was mainly concerned about the suggestion that one
should dig up these wild plants from where they naturally
grow. I realize that the information was from text published
before 1900, a time when this practice was not frowned
upon as it is today. However, I would have expected
a disclaimer to follow it. As a docent at the Mt. Cuba
Center (a garden devoted to the appreciation and preservation
of native plants of the Piedmont) near Wilmington, Delaware,
I am sensitive to the need to protect the fragile balance
of these plants and their environment.

Please do what you can in the future to discourage gardeners
from collecting native wild flowers. Most are available
as cultivated varieties from various sources.

Sincerely,
B.B.
Wilmington, Delaware

Editor's Note:
In response to the above comments, we have added an
annotation to the article reprint. We will continue
to add it to all article reprints published
in any of our newsletters.